Cat Ferguson continued her outstanding debut season by taking victory in the Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia, sprinting to the win ahead of Usoa Ostolaza after a perfectly executed lead-out from Movistar teammate Mareille Meijering. The young British rider claimed her third win of 2025, confirming her status as one of the most promising new talents in the peloton.
Previously a four-day stage race, the women’s Vuelta a Andalucia, also known as the Ruta del Sol, returned in 2025 as a single-day event following budget constraints. The 131-kilometre course started and finished in Torrox, near Málaga, featuring three ascents of the Alto del Portichuelo before an uphill drag to the finish line.
Despite the race’s reduced format, the action was aggressive from the start. Early breakaway attempts from Alice Coutinho, Claudia Sanchez and Aroa Gorostiza animated the opening kilometres, though their advantage never exceeded two and a half minutes. By the halfway mark, the main field, led by Movistar and Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, began to close the gap, setting up a fierce contest between the two strongest squads in the race.
Biriukova’s solo move lights up the race
With 40 kilometres to go, Ukrainian champion Yuliia Biriukova of Laboral Kutxa launched a solo attack, opening up a clear lead on the twisting Andalusian roads. Despite suffering a minor crash, she remounted quickly and continued alone, maintaining a narrow advantage as the chasing group began to form behind.
That chase group included Cat Ferguson, Mareille Meijering and Paula Patiño for Movistar, along with Ostolaza and Debora Silvestri from Laboral Kutxa. Movistar took charge of the pursuit, using its numerical strength to gradually reduce the gap to Biriukova as the race entered the final climb back into Torrox.
Ferguson finishes the job
With three kilometres to go, the leaders hit the steep opening ramps of the finishing climb, averaging 9%. Biriukova was caught by Ferguson, Meijering and Ostolaza, and the Ukrainian soon had to let go as Meijering set a fierce tempo to lead out her teammate.
On the final uphill drag to the line, Ferguson launched her sprint and proved the strongest, powering clear of Ostolaza to secure victory. Meijering’s work was rewarded with third place after delivering the perfect set-up for her teammate.
A breakthrough season continues
“This win means a lot,” Ferguson said afterwards. “We came here with a clear plan, and the team executed it perfectly. Mareille did an incredible job in the final – I just had to finish it off. It’s been a really special first year for me.”
The result marked Ferguson’s third win of the 2025 season following earlier triumphs in Spain and France, while also underlining Movistar’s dominance as the only WorldTour team in the race.
2025 Vuelta Ciclista Andalucia result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
